by Andrew Ly
Garreth typed a series of keys and another screen popped up with a list.
“Downtown Hyperion, like Paul said.” Garreth scrunched his face. “Come to think of it, most of his appearances have been sighted nearby here.”
Nick glanced around at them all. “I was told once that he was methodical, a perfectionist when it came to everything he did. After all that’s happened these last couple of days, I have a feeling that whatever he’s planning will come into fruition soon.”
12. Blackout
The weather reports that morning said it was to be the hottest day of the month with a high of a hundred and ten degrees. The sun was at its peak and beating down hard on the citizens of Hyperion. Blazing, when applied to normal standards, but perfectly comfortable for Nick. He was awake, but lying with his eyes closed under the shade of a tree at Paradise Pond with his head nestled in Alyssa’s lap. She was reading a book in one hand, while playing with his hair with the other.
The gentle breeze carried her familiar fragrance and he took a deep breath. He loved the way she smelled. It was the same perfume she wore ever since they first met; a lightly scented combination of irises and jasmine. Like a trusty bloodhound, he had memorized this perfect scent and associated it to the comfort it gave him, the way a parent’s heartbeat gave ease to a frightened child.
It was funny, with her presence around him he felt so much more human, so much more capable in every way. Despite the problems they’d faced in the past, their bond had grown even stronger as a result. But even though his nightmares were over, there was something else that kept him tossing and turning at night. The issue at hand was one they had yet to identify, but had to be dealt with quickly before the consequences spiraled out of control. Unfortunately, all they could do was wait for signs of the culprit’s return.
It had been just a little over a week since they had deduced Doctor Numerous as the instigator behind the demon activity in Hyperion. Looking back, Nick wasn’t sure why they didn’t figure it out sooner. Doctor Numerous was human which allowed him to move from city to city and get under the Holy Shield without much trouble. His longstanding time with the Garrison as an alchemist would explain why he would have a particular vendetta. Still, taking a sword enchanted by holy properties would do little to help the demons.
But that wasn’t Nick’s main concern. Even now that they knew of his involvement, how could they hope to stop him? Nick knew how to combat demons and knights, but how could they battle someone who had mastered both sides of the spectrum? Doctor Numerous had a genius intellect and experience well beyond them under his belt. Challenging him would be even more difficult considering he had been recently become one of the Infernals, the group of powerful demon warlords that served directly under the Crowned Princes. Nick already had trouble defeating his subordinate and a few hounds, how could he hope to stop someone who was in a completely different league?
He felt a slight thud as she dropped her novel onto the grass and let out a short, exasperated sigh.
Nick opened his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“I haven’t spoken to my grandpa since he left. I can’t shake the feeling that something has happened to him,” Alyssa said.
Their quest to Fyria had certainly hit a roadblock, and Nick had all but forgotten about his original goal to come to Peter’s aid. He felt guilty that he was content with lounging around in Hyperion while the others were off in battle.
“You don’t give the old man enough credit. I’m sure there’s nothing wrong. He’s a fighter, and one of three men to ever become a Supreme Commander. And he has the support of the best archangels I know,” Nick said.
“I guess I’m just being paranoid, aren’t I?”
Nick sat up and wrapped his arm over her shoulder, “No, you’re just being cautious. I know a little about paranoia, and if you let it just sit inside you, it’ll just make you crazy. Let’s try contacting him again and I’ll prove he’s just fine.”
“There’s no Garrison here, so we can’t to make any calls in Hyperion,” she said.
“Maybe we should try back in Glenhaven? I mean, it’s been a while and our guest has yet to show himself.” He pulled her up and they walked back to Garreth’s loft hand in hand. The city always had an abnormally large amount of traffic, but people left in droves after a sudden power outage the night before. The streets were curiously empty today. Rumors sprang around that the city was the next demon target in line. The same citizens who chastised and hated the Garrison now needed their help more than ever.
Consequently, Hyperion became a ghost town, an apocalyptic wasteland set seemingly several years into the future. Silence filled the air through the tall buildings and skyscrapers. There were no lights on in any of the shops; the once thriving metropolitan was dead.
Back inside the loft, Paul and Garreth were slamming buttons frantically on the computers in his office.
“Listen, Alyssa and I are going back to Glenhaven. If we can make contact with Peter then maybe he can give us a sense of direction,” Nick said.
“I’m afraid that’s not an option right now.” Garreth typed without looking up.
“What’s going here?” Alyssa asked.
“Glad of you to finally join us,” Paul said snidely. “Are you done having your little picnic or would you be needing some more time to go pick wildflowers and frolicking in the woods?”
“Don’t talk to her that way,” Nick snapped.
Paul glared at him. “I was referring to you, demon. I would never accuse Lady Alyssa of behaving like the animal you are. It’s because of you and your poor judgment that we’re in this predicament in the first place.”
Nick stepped forward defiantly, but Alyssa grabbed his arm, holding him back before the situation escalated too far.
“The last thing we need is you two to fight. We’ve got bigger problems here. This wasn’t just a freak power loss. The electricity in the city has been officially cut off, and we have no idea who could have done it. We’re in a widespread blackout,” Garreth said. “The only reason why everything is still functioning here in this loft is because of the backup power supply that I installed myself.”
“The entire city is blacked out?” Alyssa said.
“Yes, but this presents a bigger problem,” Garreth said. “The Holy Shield generator was designed to last for a while without power, but it can only last for so long without a constant energy source. If we don’t bring power back soon, the shield will lose its effect and the barrier protecting us will fade away, leaving us wide open for a full-fledged demon assault.”
“That must be why everyone fled.” Paul looked out the window. “Then again, with a coward as their president I’m not very surprised.”
“Is there any way to stop this from happening?” Nick said.
“There is one method that surely won’t fail,” Garreth said.
“That was what the Holy Shield promised, wasn’t it? Look how great that turned out,” Paul said sarcastically.
Garreth threw him a look of contempt. “Don’t mock my family’s legacy. If it wasn’t for the Holy Shield, people would still be living in fear and hiding their entire lives.”
“What exactly do you think they’re doing right now?” Paul shot back. He was getting increasingly closer to him, as if goading Garreth into a fight.
A flash of anger brought Garreth out of his chair, with his eyes glowering down on Paul. His usual calm and professional demeanor was gone.
“Enough!” Alyssa shouted. Thankfully she was there because they needed a voice of reason to reel them back in to civility.
“How long will the backup generators last?” Nick asked. “And what’s this about a foolproof solution to the problem?”
“We have about forty-eight hours.” Garreth sat back in his seat. “Normally that’s not enough time to bring the power plant back into use. However, before the development of modern electricity, this city used the river’s hydroelectric power at the dam. I’ve sent Matt to Griffon Riv
er to check out the situation, but he’s yet to report back.”
“I hate standing around here as if we’re just waiting for doom to take us,” Paul said. “The fools who abandoned this city should perish for their own weakness.”
“Don’t look at it that way. Right now we’re the last line of defense. And not just for this city, but for every city in the world,” Alyssa said.
Garreth nodded. “Hyperion is my home. I won’t abandon it now in its greatest hour of need. If I’m going to preserve it, I’ll need all the help I can get.”
“Where’s Daniel?” Nick asked.
“I haven’t seen him all day. He needs to be here for this too,” Alyssa said.
“Daniel went to scout for stragglers and to get them to safety,” Paul said.
“We’ll go help him,” Alyssa said.
“That won’t be necessary since we’ve come across another roadblock,” Paul said.
Nick let out an exasperated sigh. “What is it now?”
“I was assisting on the ground level as well and I came across the part of town where Graves Tower was located and I could go no further,” Paul said. “Then I realized everything was frozen solid. The entrance. The windows. Every inch of the fifty stories of that building was covered in layers and layers of ice.”
“Could this have been done by Bergice?” Alyssa said.
“Impossible, he’s in Fyria. If someone else has the ability to manipulate ice, it should be investigated later. Right now we need to generate power to keep this city safe. The only chance we have now is to use the dam,” Garreth said.
“Right, then we’ll go make sure everything is fine with Matt,” Alyssa said. “Let’s go, Emberson.”
Griffon River was just a few miles outside the city. Thankfully, it was untouched by the ice, though the weather was noticeably cooler as they moved further and further from the city. They drove down the single strip of empty paved road—the only route to the river—to the dam. Nick remembered visiting this river a few times when he was younger with Matt on one of their missions. They were delivering a personal parcel to President Evans, and had accidentally dropped it into the water. He dove into the freezing water to retrieve it, unaware that he had never learned to swim and nearly drowned. Matt rescued him of course, but he had gotten in trouble for damaging the package and hated large bodies of water ever since. Since then he had learned to swim, but to this day, the sounds of rushing water never failed to instill fear inside him.
Nick parked next to the only other vehicle in the lot. Usually the area would have been filled by tourists who wanted to see the majestic river, but today it was deserted. They walked down the dirt path and found Matt easily enough, as he was the only person on the edge of the bank wearing the white signature Garrison clothing.
“Brings back memories, doesn’t it, bud?” Matt said as Nick and Alyssa approached him. He picked up a rock from the mound next to him and tossed the small stone into the rapid moving river.
“Were you able to find out the problem?” Nick asked.
Matt nodded. “As you can see the river is running fine as it should, but I guess someone had an extreme dislike for hydropower.” He pointed at the dams, all of which were torn apart. The wooden wheels that were supposed to be churned by the rushing river were dismantled into very even pieces. “Look at the precise cuts in the wood. Whoever did this was skilled with a blade.” He gestured at a wet piece of the wreckage.
Alyssa picked up the wood and rubbed her finger along the smooth edge. “No roughness at all. It’s safe to say that this wasn’t the work of Doctor Numerous, since we know he doesn’t use swords.”
“Then maybe Astaroth before you killed him?” Matt shrugged.
“Astaroth didn’t use a sword either,” Nick said. “He relied solely on his demon powers. Even with bladed tendrils there’s no way he could have cut this uniformly. I sense a third party.”
“Those are the only two demons that with a motive for doing this, but since this wasn’t their handiwork then I’m at a loss,” Matt said.
“We figured the possibility of a third demon in this little operation. Paul went to Graves Tower and found that every entrance was frozen shut. Do you know what could have caused that?” Alyssa said.
“When you mention frozen, I just think about him.” Matt’s eyes darted to Nick and back to Alyssa.
“I know what you’re thinking, but that can’t be true. The Lord of Fear is miles away,” Nick said.
“Then something else got in. We have no idea how long that break in the shield was open,” Matt said.
“Well there’s nothing we can do here now, so we might as well cut our losses and try a new plan,” Alyssa said.
As they turned to go back, Nick stopped and became rigid. Goosebumps erupted on his arms and striking chills ran up and down his spine. The bright, clear sky became grey and gloomy. Before him cascaded a single snowflake. He caught it with his palm and watched it melt in his hand. Soon after, the clouds covered the sun and everything around him took a darker shade. The warm air disappeared, transforming into an unforgiving cold wind. For the first time in his life, he felt the sensation of cold attack his skin, making him quiver and shake. Suddenly, more snow trickled from the sky, slowly at first, then in a matter of minutes the green grass and paved roads—everything around them was covered in white.
The snowfall was unrelenting, coating the tops of the trees and buildings. Standing still, they were also feeling the effects of the weather change. Nick shook his head, causing the light flakes to flutter to the ground.
The river had stopped running, and was now frozen solid.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Matt said.
“Me too,” Nick muttered.
A loud rumble shook the ground, nearly knocking them off their feet. A giant ice wall shot up from the snow, blocking their entrance back onto the road. Three more ice walls shot up, boxing them in at all sides. The height of these walls seemed to stretch miles high, too high for them to leap over. They were trapped.
Nick wanted to kick himself for being so absentminded. After all the strange occurrences in this city he still let his guard down. He should have known that they were vulnerable to an attack. But who was behind this? The wet warrior?
“Desperation. Isolation. Unforgiving cold. These are the embodiments of fear and ice,” a voice said. A man was speaking, but there was something off about the way he spoke. It was mechanical, almost synthetic in that there was a lack of emotion.
“Show yourself!” Nick yelled. He pulled Alyssa behind him and transformed into his demon form, readying himself for any surprises that would appear.
“As you wish.”
Suddenly a man dropped, seemingly from the sky, landing in a kneeling position with his head hung. He rose slowly, revealing more of his features until he was standing tall.
His complexion was very pale, almost as if his skin had been made from the snow beneath his feet. He had sleek, silver hair that was neatly combed back. He was dressed in traditional Pailean clothing, with a pristine dark blue vest over black dress shirt and matching slacks. He had a katana in a white scabbard slung at the right side of his waist. But the most distinguished feature was his striking blue, emotionless eyes that seemed to penetrate right into a person’s soul, the effect of which made Nick uncomfortable. It was like staring into an empty abyss, into the eyes of pure evil.
“That’s not Doctor Numerous…” Matt said, his voice trembling.
Was it the cold? No, Nick thought. There was something more sinister afoot, something else that drained the color from his friend’s face.
“You…you’re behind all of this,” Nick said slowly, his mouth at a loss for any more words and his throat dry. Something came over him, another sensation he had never felt before and he couldn’t react. His spine was tingling, his breath short. He felt fear.
“All while providing an excellent distraction for us to have some time for ourselves,” the man said.
&nbs
p; “What do you want?” Alyssa asked.
Among the three she was the only one who didn’t seem affected by this man. How could she remain so aloof at a time like this? It made Nick feel a little silly, but there was no mistake, he was certainly frightened of this man.
“You presume that you possess any traits to capture my interest. I don’t want a knight or any mere mortal. I require the Inferno Bearer.” the man pointed a thin pale finger at Nick.
“Who are you?” Nick asked.
“Don’t you recognize me, Agrian? Or has time taken such a toll on your memory that you no longer remember your own brother?”
“The Lord of Fear,” Matt managed to utter.
Bergice the Blizzard, one of the Crowned Princes stood before them. He was the demon known for such cruel and unusual atrocities like the Frozen Fifty Incident. Nick hoped he would have more time to prepare before he would face a threat this large in scale. However, fate works in mysterious ways, and in this instance it had worked against his favor.
“Why are you working with Doctor Numerous? You didn’t need him to take over Fyria,” Nick said.
“He was the gatekeeper into this realm of paradise that you’ve been holding out from us. I’m surprised you figured out our little operation. I’d forgotten you’re quite astute when you want to be. Doctor Numerous has been working for us for some time now. In fact, he’s here—in that building, actually.” Bergice pointed to Graves Tower. “Conducting one of the greatest experiments of all time. If he should succeed, the world will once again be plunged into fear.”
“What happened to your hatred towards mankind, why would you allow him to join your side? Nick said.
“Before I answer that question, first tell me this, how does it feel to be ostracized from the ones you consider allies? Frustrating to no end, I’d assume,” Bergice said.
“Not as frustrating as it is to know I used to be one of you,” Nick said.
A pang of real anger flashed itself across the ice demon’s expressionless face. Had he struck a nerve?